


It's All Greek to Me

by pok3d3x



Series: Chordae Tendineae [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Euroshipping, Language Barrier, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Series, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-06-01 18:59:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6532297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pok3d3x/pseuds/pok3d3x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Well, a certain someone is back in Bakura's life, but he's not alone to face this daunting reveal. Things will be different this time, he's going to make sure of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Flicker

Kaiba opened his eyes slowly, surprised by the brightness that greeted him. He was in his actual body again, he realized as he saw the chandelier of his room. His chin was resting on Bakura's head like nothing was ever amiss. Aside from the dull ache of his head and the pain in his chest, everything felt normal. Normal like he'd undergone too strict of a workout the day before, but pain that was understandable and not otherwordly. Bakura's calm breathing was soothing, and his heartbeat was strong but relaxed.

He didn't like to wake Bakura, he was usually content waiting for the other to come around to being awake, but he needed to know. "Bakura," he whispered, shaking Bakura's shoulder gently.

Bakura hummed sleepily, curling up and pressing his face to Kaiba's chest like that could ward away the dreadful act of waking up. As Kaiba persisted, he languidly answered," Yeah?"

Kaiba swallowed uneasily as he realized he couldn't trust it was actually Bakura- not without seeing his eyes. "Are you back?" he asked softly, his heart skipping a beat as the other hesitated to look up at him. Relief deflated his tensed shoulders as he saw the strong but gentle eyes look up to him.

Bakura's eyes winced as he saw the clear pain melt away from Kaiba's face. Returning to burying his face, he muffledly apologized," I'm sorry, I must have worried you so much."

"I'm just glad you're back," Kaiba assured him, hugging him close. Bakura gave another apology. He was tense in his arms now, and Kaiba continued," It was a small journey for a very worthy cause. We're both okay now, that's all that matters."

Bakura peered to the side, where he could faintly make out the Spirit of the Ring sitting on the edge of their bed. He'd never experienced more than an ominous voice, not that he could remember. It was unnerving to see him, but comforting that he could almost keep an eye on him.

"He's watching us," he decided to inform Kaiba, afraid to keep any secret no matter how small. The thief was barely a glimmer of an image, but Bakura clearly saw his head tilt curiously. It was new for both of them, and would definitely take some getting used to.

Kaiba instinctively adjusted his embrace to be more defensive, like he could ward away the harmful presence. How to handle the thief's return was going to be troublesome. It didn't seem right to keep Bakura with the very monster that abused him, but Bakura seemed sure that he was worth saving, and Kaiba respected his autonomy. Independence was so important to Bakura, and Kaiba knew he couldn't undermine that no matter how he felt of his choices.

"He can't do anything anymore," Bakura said, though he smiled at the sudden protectiveness. "Not really. He doesn't have the same power he did before." Bakura averted his eyes as he received a murderous look from the thief. This only encouraged him that he was right though, the thief did nothing but fume quietly.

"His soul…" Kaiba recalled. Apparently he was running on just about empty.

"He always had a nasty habit of sealing pieces of his soul where they didn't belong," Bakura commented, returning his gaze to look the thief right in the eyes. He wasn't afraid, and he wouldn't make it seem like he was. "I guess I'm not very surprised to find another sliver." 

Kaiba thought this over, guilt roiling in his stomach. A poignant question still nagged at his brain. How was the thief here? If it was really because of him bringing back the Millennium Ring, Kaiba didn't know how he'd ever be able to forgive himself. "How did he come back? I thought his soul was purged from the Ring."

"I don't know," Bakura admitted. "He hasn't mentioned it."

" _I could explain, if I felt up to it_ ," the thief murmured, looking off in the other direction like he was bored.

"But apparently he knows," Bakura added.

Kaiba wondered how it worked, if they could have whole conversations in private. He could tell Bakura was looking at a target of interest, so he assumed there was an actual source outside of his mind to look at, but was the voice distant, or did it sound like it was right there in his head? Deciding to save the less important questions for a different time, he asked," Is he going to share?"

The thief shook his head, the glimmer of his image like a flickering old movie that was missing frames. Bakura rolled his eyes and answered," No, I don't think so."

Kissing the crown of Bakura's head, Kaiba said," Well, I'm more concerned with the fact that you're here. Let's celebrate." Kaiba was too drained to get out of bed, so he ordered for the raspberry chocolate mousse to be brought in. 

"He did tell me how I woke up," Bakura said halfway into enjoying their desserts. He sucked on his spoon timidly, and then quietly voiced," Thank you."

They were still curled up together, which made eating his mousse a little difficult for Kaiba. It was worth the effort though. "Of course," Kaiba dismissed, like the gratitude was unnecessary. He would have never considered doing any less than what was necessary to save someone so important to him. The thief was an unreliable narrator though, Kaiba was sure, so he asked," What did he say?"

"You gave most of your soul, almost too much, and kissed me awake," Bakura answered, then laughed a little sheepishly. "It's like a fairytale. I'm glad the clichés work in the real world too."

Kaiba was glad that how they were sitting, Bakura wouldn't be able to see him blush. "Well, the thief didn't lie." _This time_.

~~  
~~

Bakura was treating Mokuba to cheesecake at a local cafe he loved coming to. His was topped with strawberries, and Mokuba had chosen chocolate the second he saw it on the daily menu. It was after school on a thursday, which Bakura had kind of turned into their mandatory sweets day of the week. 

The thief watched silently, testing his new awareness that let him see more than only what Bakura did. They didn't quite have it figured out. When he tried to speak, it was distorted, and he couldn't hold a firm image yet. Bakura insisted he work on it; It felt more open, easier to trust what he could see. The thief had yet to take a stance on if he intended to practice or settle back to just not interacting at all. He was starting small with bit comments here or there.

Mokuba was excitedly telling Bakura all about a funny interruption in class that day when he broke off suddenly. Bakura looked up from his cake curiously, surprised by the serious look on Mokuba's face. No kid had any business looking that downright serious while eating cheesecake. He could be reading a eulogy with that expression.

"Speaking of coming back…" He had been talking about the kid who came back to class after the incident. "Um, my brother and you are back." 

They'd missed a day of school from the soul room adventure. It hadn't exactly been blink and you miss it occurence. Bakura supposed it was only natural that Kaiba would have informed his brother at least a little bit about what went on. That was a long time to be locked in one's room, and with his history of dealing with Ancient Egyptians, Bakura supposed it was only natural he'd feel the need to warn his brother he may be gone for a while.

"Yes, I was trapped in my soul room," Bakura confirmed, not feeling the need to leave any of the situation up to mystery.

"Is… the other Bakura still here?" Mokuba was hesitant, unsure if he should bring it up, but he wanted to know.

" _Of course I am, brat_ ," the thief said, receiving an off hand glare from Bakura.

Bakura tentatively answered," Yes, he is." He wondered how much Mokuba knew about the whole ordeal with him having another soul like Yuugi had. He wasn't actually sure how much Mokuba knew in general concerning the Dark Games and the Egyptian lore. He was sure Mokuba knew more than he let on, a Kaiba was a Kaiba after all, and they'd collect all the information around them no matter how it shattered their world views.

"Okay," Mokuba said with a shrug, trying to play cool though clearly a little perturbed. "I was just wondering."

"May I ask why?"

Mokuba embarrassedly looked away. "Well, I think he was the one knocked me out a few months ago."

"He what?!" Bakura cried out a little to loud for the public space. Mokuba donned a neutral expression, but Bakura looked absolutely distraught. The thought of having harmed a single hair on Mokuba's head with his own hands, even if was someone else's mind… 

"I never really brought it up since you seemed so different, and I didn't want to remind my brother since he needed you." Mokuba shrugged again, trying to laugh it off like not that big of a deal. He'd been so relieved when Bakura started coming over regularly, figuring it must have meant his brother had actually opened up to someone. Mokuba had been so worried about him, but he just wasn't the right person for his brother to confide his problems to. Mokuba was pretty sure his brother would rather never speak again than admit he was hurting to his little brother.

Bakura looked to the thief with furious eyes, demanding an explanation. The distorted iamge of the thief was immediately defensive.

" _What? He wasn't important to you then!_ " the thief protested, raising his arms to the side to form a questioning gesture. " _I needed to motivate his brother to fight_ somehow _, landlord._ " As he'd gotten good at, he disappeared, back to distantly observing Bakura's life.

Oh, the thief was getting a talking to once they were back home. Bakura was absolutely livid. He kept it away though, for now. Mokuba wouldn't understand his sudden anger. Instead, he showed the other half of how he felt. Pure sorrowful guilt.

"I'm so sorry, Mokuba. I didn't realize." Bakura ran a hand through his hair, sighing at the new knowledge. "I never even knew. It must have been hard for you to even look me in the eye."

With a cheeky grin, Mokuba proudly proclaimed," Nah, I'm the toughest middle schooler around! I'm not afraid to look anyone in the eye!"

Bakura smiled warmly, propping his cheek up with one hand. Sometimes he was envious of the confidence the Kaiba's radiated. "You certainly are. Still, I'm sorry about that. I hope you weren't ever… uncomfortable around me. I'm really sorry if you were." Retroactive guilt roiled in his stomach as he thought back to the first few times he'd offered to pick up Mokuba from school or take him out for ice cream. What if all Mokuba could see was the man who'd punched his lights out…? Or worse? How did the thief do it?

With the bluntness only children could manage, Mokuba asked," You won't lose control to him, will you?'

"No," Bakura promised, though his grip on his fork tightened so his knuckles paled. He didn't know. He was suddenly afraid of what the future had in store for him. What if he hurt Mokuba again? 

He hadn't had fear for himself. He could take whatever tumbles came his way as far as his own health in dealing with this spirit. If more harm should come to Mokuba on the other hand… Bakura smiled as his stomach began to turn with apprehension.

"Awesome! Now where was I with that story…? Oh, right, so Tanaka comes back into the room just _wailiing_ …"

Bakura listened politely, finding it hard to enjoy the rest of his cheesecake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the thrilling plot thickens, or you know, remains just as angsty as before. Some amazing comments have really compelled me to write a lot faster than I usually do. Thank you to everyone who's offered support, especially those who've given kudos or left a comment (and shoutout to a certain deerling that's supplied me with cream puffs to cheer me up, which have become essential to my creativity @lalaluhanne)!


	2. Dark Water

"Kaiba…" Bakura was working on his math homework in Kaiba's study, lying on his stomach on the couch he had officially claimed as his. Kaiba said nothing, but Bakura knew he had his attention. "Why didn't you ever tell me about how I hurt Mokuba?" The conversation from the day before still weighed on his mind, and his attempted talk with the thief hadn't made matters any better. Now the thief was just sulking in the Ring for being yelled at, and Bakura only felt worse.

"What you…? You mean the thief?" Kaiba was at first confused, but quickly caught on to what Bakura was referring to. 

Bakura shrugged half-heartedly and said," Yeah. The thief knocked Mokuba unconscious, right?" 

"That was months ago, and as of the Ceremonial Duel, I knew the person who actually did it was already taken care of. There was no more to be done about it," Kaiba answered. He had to admit, he'd almost beaten Bakura on the spot when he saw him after the Dark RPG, but he'd known it wasn't the same person just by looking at him even if he didn't quite understand yet. By the time the others were talking about "the other Bakura" and there were two Yuugi's dueling, Kaiba had resigned it to something he'd just never know more about. Apparently he was wrong.

"What if he hurts someone again?" Bakura asked in a hushed voice, afraid the thief might hear it. 

Kaiba shut his computer and came over to Bakura. Kneeling beside him he quietly admitted," I don't know that I could ever trust him after what I've seen him do. I think I would hide him away so he couldn't wreak havoc again if I could figure out how." The two innocent children Zorc incinerated flashed before his eyes. He could still remember the fear that constricted his heart when the thief held up his unconscious brother, only to toss him to the side like a doll. 

"I can't just give up on him, resign him to living in senseless solitude for eternity," Bakura murmured," That would make me like him." If he sealed the thief's soul somewhere and abandoned it, it would weigh on his mind for the rest of his life. He also couldn't bare the thought of personally destroying him, and he couldn't just pass his problem onto someone else.

Kaiba hummed in deep thought. "I don't think there's an easy answer to this." He kissed Bakura's forehead to reassure him. "I'll always be right here, though."

"Thank you- Thank you for putting up with me," Bakura said with a sad smile. He felt like a burden yet again.

Kaiba gently reminded," Me putting up with you? I believe you sat through my problems first."

"You went on a whole quest in my soul room to save me," Bakura argued. "You've done a lot more than me." Before the thief's return, he'd felt like he was being irrational. Just an annoyance that Kaiba mysteriously put up with. Now he wasn't irrational for thinking the thief would come back, but he was an actual danger. Yet Kaiba still remained at his side. What had he done to deserve such understanding people in his life? Mokuba, Yuugi and the gang, and Kaiba… Bakura frowned. He didn't feel worthy of such people.

Kaiba took Bakura's hand and squeezed reassuringly. He waited until Bakura looked his way curiously, and informed him earnestly," Just because something bad happened to you recently doesn't mean I somehow care more. You reaching out to me when no one else would saved me more than you'll ever know." He didn't want to think about those nights before Bakura stepped into his life.

"I want to do what I think is right, and I think I should offer the thief a second chance, even though the logical part of me is screaming that I'm just setting myself up," Bakura pulled his hand away sullenly, shut his textbook and slid it to the floor, and folded his arms in its place, hiding his face in them. His hair splayed everywhere, and he smiled a little as he felt Kaiba begin the portion the hair out for a braid.

"Maybe you are, but you're making the choice to give him the opportunity to change, and you decided to do so on your own. Sometimes a choice goes horribly wrong, but if you don't put your all into it you'll never know." He often wondered where he'd be if he hadn't challenged Gozaburo to chess. He wouldn't be the CEO of a successful company if he hadn't, and he'd probably never have met Bakura. Bad results to hard choices were just a part of life, he'd come to realize, and they lead to good things too. He didn't let himself live afraid to make bold moves. He didn't want Bakura to live that way either.

~~  
~~

The thief sat at the table watching his host eat, boredly wondering if this was really the height of such a mundane ability. He'd come to think of it as roaming, and it was oddly liberating. He was still more of a flickering image to Bakura, and the thief found it hard to keep up direct communication in such a relaxed manner, so he usually settled for just halfheartedly projecting himself so Bakura could only vaguely make out his presence. 

He felt so powerless now. The absence of darkness left a larger void than he remembered it filling. After three thousand years of the other soul pressed up against his and entwining to the point that it was impossible to tell where one began and the other ended, it felt hollow to be relatively alone now. It was just one of the few significant changes since Memory World.

A piece of Zorc still had to be there. The dark master he'd served was as tenacious as he was. There was a reason they'd made such a good pair. There was no way he was completely purged of the darkness he'd melded with over the millennia. Still… He felt lighter now, even accounting for how little of his original soul remained, like a balloon that had no choice but to flail as the wind dictated.

His attention was drawn away from his introspective rumination when Bakura dropped his spoon into the bowl of soggy cereal.

" _Oy, landlord, forget how to use a spoon?_ "

Bakura didn't reply. At first he'd been all anxious at the thief's frequent disparaging remarks, easily getting flustered, but he'd quickly grown a verbal backbone and began quipping back. It actually surprised the thief when he didn't immediately snap something back.

" _Need a little help_ ," he offered snidely, frowning when Bakura still didn't react. It was like he couldn't even hear him, just staring ahead vacantly. The thief gritted his teeth angrily and leaned in front of his landlord, snapping his fingers and calling," _Hey, stop ignoring me!_ "

He followed Bakura's gaze, tracing it back to his left hand. The pale hand rested flat against the table so the even paler scar was in plain sight. It had healed as well as could be hoped for an area of such movement, a spiky mess of scar tissue reaching along all the bones and tendons. The thief scoffed," _It's not even that impressive of a scar._ "

Still Bakura didn't acknowledge him, and the brief pique at being ignored faltered to concern. Why was he just staring dully? His eyes made the thief uneasy. That'd come to be a face he identified with, it shouldn't look like a doll he'd extracted a soul from. He tentatively probed their mind, slightly relieved that he still sensed an active soul aside from his own. He'd momentarily feared Bakura had fallen back to his room in unnatural slumber. He felt their shared body's heart rate beginning to climb, and the thief tried to grip Bakura's shoulder with his ghostly hand.

" _Hey, cut it out_ ," he said with a forced laugh. " _You got me, you can drop the act…_ "

The thief took in the dull horror of Bakura's expression, and grimaced as he began to hear blood rushing through their shared ears. Their chest ached in the same way as when narrowly missing being hit by a car or being surprised by one more step down than expected. The thief resolutely decided he had to do something about this.

He reached with his soul, brushing against Bakura's and pushing it out of the way like old times. It wasn't as easy as it used to be, probably on account of his soul having so little substance now and Bakura gaining a little resistance.

The thief abandoned the cereal, pushed the chair out of his way without care for how it clamored to the floor, and left the apartment. The lights and any appliances Bakura had on, were left as they were in the thief's haste. He knew the way by now, Bakura spent more time at the mansion than his own apartment. Bakura still frequently took the train, hating to inconvenience the chauffeur, though the thief realized as he got to the station, he'd never actually paid attention to how Bakura went through the routine. He had some kind of card that he touched to the barriers' scanners, but the thief didn't know how it worked.

He cursed as he saw the train pull up, demanding the hostess let him on that train so he didn't have to wait half an hour for another one. After a lot of hurried yelling that he'd miss it if he didn't hurry and shouted instructions that the thief blindly followed, he was on the train with a vague idea of what to do when he got to the next station. He could have called the limo, but he didn't know Bakura's phone lock passcode. Apparently Bakura had updated all of his security measures since the thief had left. An extra padlock on the door that didn't take visa, actually bothering with locking his phone, and leaving the TV on while he was out to name a few.

As his station came up, he stood and departed, glad to be off the packed train. It was getting dark out, but that didn't bother the thief. It was actually comforting, being shrouded in the thing his soul missed. The thief quickly navigated the streets of Domino, reflecting how well he knew them after all this time. It had to be close to the most long term school Bakura had attended since the thief entered his life.

No one said anything as he approached the mansion's gate. The guard let him right through, and why shouldn't he? Bakura had become as expected as the mail. As the thief entered the grand reception hall, he brought out the Ring, keeping it just out of sight of the staff. He didn't have time to find Kaiba on his own. Already, he was short of breath, his control getting harder and harder to keep. 

He followed the Ring's guidance without question, looking up as all the prongs flared to indicate he'd come across what he sought. They were in a modestly lit hallway lined with portraits of supposedly important people. He didn't take in a lot the environment, his one track mind keying in on his goal with aggressive focus.

"Bakura?" Kaiba asked with mild surprise. "What are you- Thief?" His eyes narrowed with scrutiny as he took in the determined gait of his guest.

The thief skipped pleasantries, jumping right to the point. "I don't know what to do. He just started staring at a dumb scar and froze. Fix it or something," he said with a distanced huff, not wanted to betray his concern. His host had better appreciate this.

Before Kaiba could question further, Bakura stumbled, semi-fainting into Kaiba's arms. He didn't know why he was falling, where he was, and until Kaiba began speaking, didn't know whose arms embraced him intimately. All he could remember was eating cereal because he was too emotionally exhausted to bother with anything else, and now he was here, his heart racing and his shoulders trembling. It had been so long, he'd almost forgot what it was like.

"D-did I hurt anyone," he gasped out between wheezing attempts at breathing.

"I don't think so," Kaiba answered, keeping his voice calm despite the raised awareness he was now experiencing. He discreetly checked for blood or signs struggle, grimacing slightly at the thought of how he'd tell Bakura if he found any.

Bakura's legs were shaking, and he felt Kaiba position himself to support his weight better. He tried to string words together, but the only coherent phrase he could pull together was," I've made a mistake." He was so scared. His legs finally gave out and Kaiba eased him to the ground gracefully. The broad arms encircling him were comforting, but he still couldn't keep back the tears that began to stream down his face.

Kaiba held Bakura for nearly twenty minutes, whispering that it was all okay, that he was safe, and that he'd stay by his side no matter what. As Bakura slowly calmed down, Kaiba only redoubled his efforts, holding him close and rubbing his back.

"I don't know why I'm here. I- I was just… I was just eating and now I'm here, and it seems s-so late…"

"Shh, we'll figure it out tomorrow," Kaiba promised. "Let's just focus on relaxing right now." He felt Bakura nod against his chest. His plain sleep shirt was soaked with tears, and he didn't want Bakura to go through any more pain tonight.

Bakura spent the night over. He couldn't sleep, so Kaiba called for hot chocolate with marshmallows and cake to be brought to his chambers, and they watched a favorite movie of Bakura's. Kaiba did not find a single thing comforting about _The Grudge_ , but Bakura took solace in the disturbing classic.

Around two in the morning they were on their fifth movie, and Bakura grabbed the remote to pause it. His first go landed on a brutal scene, and he sheepishly played and paused it again to land on a less cringe-worthy still.

He shakily sighed and rested against Kaiba's shoulder. "What if it starts up again? I- I don't even know what…" He buried his face, feeling ridiculous.

"He said something about you freezing, so I think he may have been talking about a flashback. He seemed confused, unsure what to do," Kaiba recalled. "Perhaps he came straight here." He hoped that would offer some comfort.

"Maybe. I can't bring myself to ask."

"I'm sorry," Kaiba offered condolingly. The irony that Kaiba would give the gratuitous apology wasn't lost to either of them.

"Kaiba…"

"Yes?"

"Will you promise me something?"

Kaiba was never one to promise anything to anyone without knowing the details first. "What is it?"

"If I go crazy evil, even if it seems like me, will you stop me?"

"For the same in return," Kaiba agreed. He doubted he'd be fooled by the thief though. The thief was a good actor, he nailed most of Bakura's mannerisms, but there was something just… _off_... that couldn't fool him much past a few seconds.

"You plan on being possessed sometime soon?" Bakura joked lightly, failing to give off the happy tone he was going for.

"I didn't need an evil spirit to put blood on my hands," Kaiba reminded softly. "I don't know that I could trust myself to know I've gone too far."

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit."

"You don't either," Kaiba lightly countered. He doubted the Spirit of the Ring could keep control of Bakura now. Bakura was so strong, even if he didn't realize it.

Sleepily kissing Kaiba's shoulder before leaning against it once more, Bakura asked," What do you think of watching _Ring_ next?"

"I don't think it'd be a full night of horror movies without it," Kaiba agreed wryly.

"Thank you for watching all of these. I know you're not exactly a fan."

"You are, that's enough," Kaiba dismissed. "Besides, I never really gave them a fair chance. I enjoyed _Dark Water_ quite a bit."

"I don't think you realize how awesome you are," Bakura said drowsily with the flat honesty tiredness brought. "You like to boast your intelligence to opponents, but you don't think to acknowledge your patience. How much you're willing to go through for your friends." He waited for Kaiba to say something, but continued talking when he didn't. "You're a good friend. They're really happy that you're part of the group."

"Is that so?" It didn't sound true, but the source was rather reliable. He couldn't remember another instance of being called kind by anyone but Mokuba.

Bakura hummed an affirmative, sliding into sleep. Kaiba carried him to bed, deciding to mull over the conversation but leave it for another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew a scene this chapter. If you're interested, you can find it here: http://caffeinatedpokedex.tumblr.com/post/145982567414/i-oy-landlord-forget-how-to-use-a-spoon-i
> 
> I periodically tag things #chordae_tendineae on my tumblr.


	3. Barriers

Kaiba woke to rough hands pushing him away, hard enough he almost fell out of bed. Careening and trying to make sense of the situation while still foggily asleep, Kaiba heard something spoken in a language other than Japanese and quickly tried to decode it. Even as he became more awake, he found it was like no other language he'd ever heard.

Wary, untrusting eyes stared at him, and Kaiba knew who he was dealing with. The thief brought his knees close as he sat on the other side of the bed. His eyes were unnaturally wide, and tears steadily flowed. It caused a dull ache in Kaiba, seeing that body so clearly distressed, even if he didn't particularly care for the current occupant.

"It's okay," Kaiba said softly," Whatever dream you were having was just that, a dream."

The thief rubbed at his tears as he muttered in that other language, and Kaiba began to suspect it was whichever form of Egyptian was the common tongue of the thief's era. Probably Middle Egyptian? Perhaps Late Egyptian? Either way, there were enough consonants.

"I'm afraid I don't know Egyptian," Kaiba interjected, though the other just kept talking at him. Going over how the centuries lined up for the various ancient empires, Kaiba reasoned Ancient Greece was rather important to Egypt around the end of the New Kingdom. His Ancient Greek was really only polished enough to read through epics at a slow pace, but he tentatively asked in Ancient Greek," _Are you okay?_ "

The thief fell silent, still staring with a look of abject horror. Blinking for what seemed like the first time in this whole confusing fiasco, the thief uncertainty strung together," _Greek know very little._ "

Kaiba tried a small smile and encouraged," _Your experience echoes my own. Why don't you attempt to put into words, the pain you feel?_ " He could only achieve what he felt was pretty good grammar because he was stealing well remembered lines from some of his favorite obscure literary works. He was pretty sure he'd sound like an idiot to anyone who actually spoke the language. Luckily for him, that wasn't a particularly large list these days.

With a shaky breath, the thief complied, shoving broken words together to explain his dream. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but Kaiba followed the best he could. It helped that it seemed to be very close to the recountance of the Millennium Items' creation from back in the soul room.

In the middle of his tale, the thief blinked a few times, his eyes losing that haunted look. "Kaiba," he said, his voice suddenly losing the heavy accent. He looked away, his body language relaxing but remaining distant. Continuing in Japanese, he asked," What are we doing?"

"I think we were talking about Kul Elna," Kaiba said, ignoring the actual intent of the question.

The thief grimaced at the name, then wrinkled his nose and looked back to Kaiba. He sneered," I mean why would you try to…" The thief trailed off, not even knowing how to say what he'd just experienced.

Kaiba suggested," Make you feel better?" He sighed and crossed his arms. "I really don't know."

He could tell that Bakura was back in control by the flash of surprise in his eyes, and the softening of his frame. His shoulders relaxed and his chest was no longer puffed; he looked gentle again. He must have been privy to the conversation, because he looked to Kaiba with a touched expression and murmured," That was really nice of you."

Kaiba shrugged uncomfortably. He was working on being a kinder person, even if a lot of it didn't come naturally to him after years of business conditioning. "I try," he mumbled when he couldn't think of anything better to say. He was pointedly avoiding looking at Bakura, not wanting to see the surely amused or sappy look that would be plastered on his face. He wasn't surprised as he felt Bakura crawl up against him, kissing his collarbone a few times and then snuggling close.

"It shows," Bakura quietly informed Kaiba, mindfully keeping himself to the amount of affection Kaiba was comfortable with.

Bakura's words from just before sleep echoed in Kaiba's mind once more, and he thoughtfully rested his chin on Bakura's head. He was apparently an open book because Bakura reassured him," You should have seen how many exclamations Jounouchi's 'awesome' had when I texted him about burgers last time."

Kaiba thought back to Burger World, the most recent group outing he'd attended. He didn't have the endurance to go with everyone as often as Bakura did, he got exhausted easily if he went too much. He supposed thinking back on it, no one had seemed disappointed he'd come at least. It was hard to think about them actually _wanting_ him there, but he was making peace with them _tolerating_ his attendance to their get togethers. It was still a foreign idea, completely alien to him, but entertaining the thought brought a strange warmth- like he actually belonged somewhere.

"I need to actually talk to him," Bakura said quietly, disrupting Kaiba's introspection. "He's hurting so much, but he just doesn't know how to talk about it." It was their inability to communicate that bred such mistrust and misunderstandings. For all Bakura knew, the thief had legitimately brought him here with good intent. It was hard to imagine, but Bakura just didn't know. He wondered how everything would have gone if the thief hadn't resorted to manipulation and suppression and just _talked_ to him. If they could have found common ground, maybe Bakura would be less riddled with scars.

"That's never a bad place to start."

Bakura reached for Kaiba's hand and held tight. "I'm afraid," he admitted. "The only two times we talked a lot lead to me either being stabbed or being taken back under control again."

Kaiba reassuringly squeezed Bakura hand. Those weren't exactly encouraging past experiences to be sure. He wished he could promise everything would work out.

~~  
~~

Bakura would sometimes see more of the thief over the next couple of days. He only ever offered a line or two of commentary, usually negative, and Bakura found it irritating that he couldn't keep up a conversation with his shadow. How were they supposed to make amends if the thief pointedly disappeared when faced with a question? 

He replied only rarely now to Bakura's direct words, usually uncomfortably and quickly vanishing after his short answer. He once tried to blame it on how hard to project himself it was, but Bakura didn't buy it. He tried to remain patient though, every day the thief became more solid, stayed for just a bit longer when asked something.

Tanned and with a striking jawline emphasized by his large scar, the thief's appearance was becoming strikingly clear when he managed to roam. He wore whatever Bakura wore; it was natural to him to mirror Bakura's appearance after all this time. That he'd reverted more to the look of his thief king days wasn't a conscious effort, more just a byproduct of the reconfigured soul.

The same question came around often, from both Bakura and Kaiba.

" _Fine, but I want to tell him myself. I don't need your tactful translation_ ," the thief gave in as Bakura was asked again about how the thief came back. He was surprised to feel the gate between them open. It was uncomfortable how easy taking over the body was when he didn't need to force his way to the front. It felt like he was trespassing, taking a shortcut through someone's land that he really shouldn't. It felt almost… nice though, easy. Not the scraping mess it usually was that bruised both their souls.

His eyes narrowed as he felt the sensation of having a corporeal form again. His shoulders instinctively squared, and his jaw tightened like he was readying for a fight. It was a habit that he had to deliberately fight when he didn't want to come off so aggressive. How he came to pick up these showy practices were foggy at best, but he could remember a time when his shorter stature made it hard to be taken seriously in the black market of Ancient Egypt.

"I told you how I absorbed some of your soul when I brought you into the RPG," he stated, uncomfortably crossing his arms. He glared at Kaiba, who sharply gazed right back. They'd both taken a step back each as the thief took over, and neither missed how they're stances became more on guard without a second's breath.

Looking away enigmatically, the thief continued,' It was easy to wire an exchange. I've never been one to put all of my eggs in one basket, and in the event of losing the RPG, I knew I'd be eradicated. If I sealed a piece of my soul where no one would check though, perhaps I could recover my strength over time, enough to survive intact."

Kaiba's jaw dropped and he had to forcibly clamp it shut to keep from betraying his mortal shock. "Me?" Kaiba easily concluded. It was hard to swallow as a lump grew in his throat. If the thief's soul had been planted in him, then he was the very reason Bakura was brought back into harm's way. He shut his eyes and tried to restrain from showing emotion.

"Yes," the thief confirmed, then cautiously looked back to Kaiba. "It wasn't exactly a smooth process for either of us. It was... no coincidence if you felt a drain on your soul."

" _You_ caused my penalties to plague me again," Kaiba accused with eerie calm, his eyes flashing open in barely controlled rage.

The thief quickly held up his hands defensively and claimed," Not on purpose!"

Kaiba took a step forward and inquired," So what, you watched my life as I suffered, getting a grand ol' laugh at my expense while you sapped my life force like the parasite you are?" His voice had raised to an unpleasant boom.

Not one to back away from assertive displays, the thief mirrored him and took a step closer, making sure his body language was bold and betrayed no fear. He looked up to the glowering man and venomously spat," For the first few days, but then I grew bored." 

That wasn't true. He'd tried to be aware, but it'd been too taxing. He'd gone into a deep sleep for months, too weak to wake for more than an hour at a time every couple weeks. It was only a week ago his spirit had awoken in full force again, but still too weak to do anything more than wait for a more accommodating host. Boy, had he been surprised but ecstatic upon Kaiba greeting Bakura so soon and so intimately. Contact made soul sealing so much easier.

Kaiba's loud, aggressive act grew quiet suddenly, and he backed away slightly. "You're lying," he informed the thief calmly.

"Oh, and how can you tell?"

"Someone like you wouldn't willingly give up the opportunity to learn more about past enemies," Kaiba reasoned. He was practically looking in a mirror. Arrogant, persistent, ready to win at all costs, determined to settle a score and take his revenge no matter what because he'd lost sight of what was important… He just hadn't had the important lesson to remind him that revenge was no where near as important as holding on to what was left.

With a sharp _tsk_ , the thief shoved his hands in his pockets and admitted," You've got me. My sliver wasn't strong enough for more than rigged dice. It wasn't until recently that I recovered enough of my soul to become aware again."

The thief nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw his host standing beside of him. Only years of training himself to never show weakness kept his surprise to a minute raise of the eyebrows. He realized that it didn't feel the same as it always did. He couldn't feel the eerily tranquil rest of another inside of him. The other soul wasn't suppressed and unaware. Bakura was looking at him enigmatically, and it made the thief's skin crawl. He pointedly avoided looking at him as he waited for Kaiba's reply.

"Well, you've told me your piece. Give me back Bakura."

The thief scoffed, but complied. He was already starting to shake with keeping control. It was easier with Bakura's compliance, but his soul had been through a lot lately, and it just couldn't handle long strains yet. He'd rather never again go through the embarrassing display of crashing Bakura's body again.

Bakura stumbled, a look of innocent surprise on his face. "I wasn't expecting him to give back control so quickly," Bakura excused with a look of embarrassment. Here he was supposed to have more control and he still looked clumsy.

Kaiba offered a supportive hand. He looked pensively at Bakura, thinking over the new information he had. Seeing Bakura uncomfortably look away, Kaiba broke his intense gaze and apologized. He hated that his natural tendency to stare coldly as he thought upset Bakura. Guilt punched him in the gut every time.

"Has everything been alright?" Kaiba asked uncertainly, obviously meaning _with him being back_.

"I know what I'm doing," Bakura said with a small frown. "You don't have to worry about me." Kaiba didn't press it, but he knew Kaiba did not trust the thief being back in the slightest. "I haven't had any new gaps in memory," he added to assure Kaiba. He brought forth a confident smile, wishing he didn't have to fake it.

Bakura's smile didn't reach his eyes, Kaiba noted. Bakura was always offering smiles, but he wondered how many were really genuine.


	4. Mundanely Awful

Now that Bakura practically lived at the mansion, he began to notice small things. Every closet a person could conceivably fit it had emergency levers that would ensure the door could open from the inside. He'd even found rations, actual military rations, in one particular closet. 

He never mentioned it, but he noticed both Kaiba brothers had an occasional tendency to leave doors open for their servants to close. Cupboard doors and closet doors being left open kind of bothered Bakura, a nettling itch at the back of his mind told him that doors should be closed after use, but it was clear there was more than a small annoyance at work for the Kaiba's. Bakura would count to ten in his head and look somewhere else when ever it especially bothered him.

The thief pointed out how particular rooms were never used. Bakura being a curious person with a habit of filling out his map in any dungeon he came across wished it hadn't been pointed out. Now he wondered what those mysterious rooms held. He wasn't going to go snooping though, and he called after the thief crossly when he one day walked through the wall to check it out.

Waiting for his return, Bakura was surprised when he was back in a handful of seconds. The thief shrugged unimpressed before flickering out of sight, and Bakura sighed. What good was communing with a wandering spirit if he wasn't going to share what he saw?

"Well…?" Bakura asked eagerly, though trying to play it like it was only vaguely interesting.

" _I was really hoping for a straight up torture dungeon, but it's just a lame study_ ," the thief scoffed in his head. " _The desk had a leash, and that's pretty weird, but don't rich people bring their pets everywhere?_ "

Bakura couldn't recall Kaiba ever mentioning having a pet.

~~  
~~

He was straightening Kaiba's tie before a large press conference, when Bakura noticed the muscles in his neck flare. He betrayed no other sign of discomfort, he didn't pull away or mention anything, but Bakura immediately loosened the tie and began apologizing. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to choke you-"

"It's fine," Kaiba assured the other, resting his hands over Bakura's, the smaller hands having begun to flusteredly try and pull the tie away and failing. "I just hate ties," he excused. It was broader than that. He hated things tied around his neck in general, but the business world demanded sacrifices to be made.

"Then why wear them?"

Kaiba sighed as he began to tighten the tie again. "It's considered unprofessional to go without a tie, and my personal taste in fashion isn't really suitable to this venue." He wore ties, bow ties, ascot ties, and just about every other type of formal neckwear often, even when not strictly called for. He was most comfortable with a turtleneck protecting his throat, but he hated giving into his discomforts. He didn't want to betray his weakness to anyone.

His stomach dropped as the knot of the tie pressed firmly against his neck. The chafing of a collar floated through his memory and he consciously kept himself from scratching at his neck, knowing no amount of clawing would get rid of the sensation.

Bakura looked up with concerned confusion at the hard set eyes that seemed so falsely okay. Kaiba obviously didn't want to wear the tie. "You're Kaiba Seto, you easily own half the gaming industry. If you don't want to wear a tie, you don't have to wear a tie," Bakura reasoned, once again reaching to undo the tie.

Kaiba pulled back minutely as the hands placed themselves by his neck, curling around the silk tie- _someone's hands were so close to his neck, and could just pull that tie so easily_ \- he leaned back into Bakura's hands as reminded himself who he was dealing with.

"May I?" Bakura murmured, waiting for permission. His hands felt Kaiba's throat accommodate an uneasy swallow, and he began to let go. 

"No, please," Kaiba decided.

Bakura gingerly undid the tie, keeping as little pressure on Kaiba's neck as possible. As he pulled it away, he went further. Undoing the top two buttons of Kaiba's shirt, he popped the collar and pulled it away from his neck. He reached on his tiptoes to kiss Kaiba's neck, working his way softly from the jugular around the side to the large muscle that had flared so prominently before. 

"One more," Kaiba asked hesitantly as Bakura pulled away. He pointed to the opposite side of his neck that had been overlooked.

Bakura was surprised, but happily obliged. Kaiba never asked for kisses, whatever it was that bothered him about ties evidently was more than just a passing dislike. Planting a warm kiss where he'd been directed, he backed away so he could brush Kaiba's coat a final time to ready him for his big speech. He liked this look better in all honesty. It fit him better, Bakura thought as he ran his eyes up and down, hardly restraining his enamored expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter, but the next one is one the way soon! Bakura's heart eyes are adorable to imagine uwu


	5. Tenant

" _This is so stupid_ ," the thief complained, appearing next to Bakura. He was probably the most patient soul ever to survive the test of time, but he had no patience for indecision. Ibuki borrowed his textbook a week ago and Bakura wanted to ask for it back, but he didn't want to enter a confrontation. The thief didn't see the big deal. " _Why don't you just text the idiot who has your book?_ "

Ibuki would certainly feel embarrassed that he'd forgotten. Bakura scratched the back of his head as he sighed and replied," You don't understand. It's just not so easy for me to-"

" _Fine_ ," the thief snapped," _I'll take care of it_."

Bakura grasped at his chest from the pain of resisting the switch of control. "No," he firmly stated," You can't just take control. You have to ask." The pressure dissipated, and Bakura sighed wearily. It felt like the newer transitions, like he wouldn't be completely suppressed, but forceful takeovers wouldn't be tolerated in any capacity. He couldn't live with that fear.

" _Ask_ ," the thief echoed, then scoffed," _Please_."

"I want to help you live, but I can't let myself drown to do it," Bakura insisted. He truly wanted the thief to live normally, happily, to thrive, but he couldn't at the cost of his own health. He couldn't stand that kind of uncertainty, not again.

" _Tsk, you think I'm just going to steal your body and do unspeakable evil?_ "

"You can change, I know it, but it will take time to show it." He wouldn't pretend his body hadn't been stolen to commit unspeakable evil just to mollify the spirit. He wasn't going to lie, but he also wanted to make sure the spirit didn't think he was upset. It was a habit, and he already felt himself putting on a small smile to convey warm feelings.

" _After all I've done, you're still holding out for me_ ," the thief laughed bitterly. He crossed his ethereal arms, feeling odd about implying admittance to having ever done anything wrong.

"Of course I am." Bakura stared at the thief with disbelief. He should know better than anyone. "This is your chance to lead a better life, a happier one!"

Bakura's whole-hearted belief bothered the thief, and he snarled at the optimistic words. " _Maybe you're the only person stupid enough to think I_ deserve _that chance!_ " he retorted accusatorially.

Bakura brushed away tears that weren't his, surprised by the warmth rolling down his cheeks. He was too shocked to say anything, and the thief took the opportunity to hastily tag on embarrassedly," _With how much of a wide eyed idealist you're being about this, you deserve to be walked on_."

Eyes setting in disappointment, Bakura said," No, I've never deserved what you've done to me and my friends, and I don't deserve to be mistreated now. _You don't deserve a second chance_ , but I'm giving you one because I believe you can make good use of it."

It was the thief's turn to look shocked, but he quickly recovered. Looking away diffidently, he murmured," _I never thought you'd show that kind of backbone for yourself_." He tended to forget how strong his host was, despite the resolution he showed in the face of danger when his friends' lives were on the line.

Bakura ignored the obvious egging and informed the thief," Then you never really got to know me. That was your mistake."

With a wry smile, the thief admitted," _I guess you're right_." His smile faded, and a pensive look took hold. The thief didn't know where to go from here. He lost control of the situation, conceded defeat… This was so far from his accepted script, he felt utterly lost.

"I really want to help you be happy," Bakura softly interrupted the other's thoughts. "But there are some guidelines that need to be set. We need to _communicate_ this time around. No mysterious revenge plots."

The thief laughed snidely. " _Is that the first guideline?_ "

"Sure," Bakura agreed with a small smile. He laughed lightly at how absurd this all was. He never imagined he'd be setting rules for his body's rent with the very spirit that incurred all the damage that made them necessary. "Rule one, no mysterious revenge plots. Rule two, no taking control without asking -and receiving- permission." He knew better than to leave obvious loopholes open. This was the spirit who didn't consider soul loaded dice cheating if his opponent could _technically_ do it too.

The thief warily eyed his host, hesitant to make any promises. He rolled his eyes and sighed," Fine."

"And, um, rule three, no reading while I'm writing letters," Bakura added after some thought. His letters were private, and he wanted to keep them that way. He watched the thief expectantly, smiling wider when the thief reluctantly agreed. "Anything you want?"

"What," the thief flatly asked.

"Well, this is a compromise, so you get input too."

The thief rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Okay, I want to pick out the food sometimes. You're practically a vegetarian; learn to cook more meat," the thief requested in kind of a demanding tone.

Bakura laughed, then fell a little quiet. "I stopped keeping meat on hand because I didn't know if I would be around to use it before it went bad."

"Oh." The thief stared at his host, unsure what to say.

Bakura forced a happy tone as he said," Well that's rule number four. Anything else?"

"Promise me that I'll still get to play games."

Bakura narrowed his eyes and amended," No dark games."

"None ever?" The thief smugly pointed out," It could mean our safety if we were accosted. You're not much of a brawler, you know."

"I can't exactly open it up to 'no unnecessary dark games'. We have very different opinions on where to draw that line."

"I thought this was supposed to be a bridge of trust we're building," the thief sneered with mock woundedness.

Bakura gave the other a nettled glance. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

"Neither were the pyramids, but we're not talking architecture here. Don't be unreasonable." He wouldn't agree to no dark games whatsoever. His host could eat this compromise and forget it if he stuck to his guns on that.

"Fine," Bakura conceded, feeling the steeled resolve at the back of his head. "No unnecessary dark games, but that will be defined as _because of_ a life or death situation, _not the cause of_ a life or death situation."

It didn't exactly sound very fun, but the thief was happier with that than nothing. Crossing his arms, he sighed," _Agreed. Is that rule number five now?_ "

Bakura nodded, then said," we should write these down."

" _Can I watch_ ," the thief asked facetiously.

"A list isn't a letter unless it's addressed to someone," Bakura nonchalantly answered, ignoring the thief's mocking intent. "So, yes, you may. Thanks for checking," he added with a wry grin, achieving the cross 'humpf' from the thief he was going for.

The thief crossed his arms and pointedly didn't watch as his host got out paper and began writing. He did check after he heard the pen clack against the desk though.

_Rule 1: No mysterious revenge plots._  
_Rule 2: No taking control without receiving permission._  
_Rule 3: No watching while a letter is being written, defined as being addressed to someone._  
_Rule 4: Both occupants get to pick out food, this includes adding more meat to our diet._  
_Rule 5: The parasite still gets to play games- **however** , no unnecessary dark games, defined as in response to life or death situations, not the cause of said situations._

The thief pulled a face and asked," _So I'm a parasite now?_ "

"Nothing's changed," Bakura calmly responded a bit smugly. "You've called me your host, which makes you a parasite."

" _Okay_ ," the thief began, his voice raising in an argumentative tone. " _But I've called you 'landlord', too. Put me down as tenant_ ," the thief insisted.

Bakura neatly scratched out 'parasite' and wrote 'tenant', all the while restraining a victorious smile. It wasn't often he got to return the favor and get under the thief's skin.

The thief wanted to blurt out a new demand, just for the sake of having an equal number of rules on the list, but he decided against it. He'd keep it to things he really cared about, as Bakura seemed to be doing. " _We can add more later, right_ ," he verified.

"Of course," Bakura said, shaking his head 'yes'.

" _Then… May I take the reins?_ " His voice was uncertain, it feeling awkward to ask for something that he was used to just doing.

Bakura warily answered," That depends… Are you going to contact Ibuki?"

" _Nope, I promise._ "

Bakura swallowed down the concern that rose immediately; he wanted to be able to trust the thief. Closing his eyes, he exhaled a steadying breath and relinquished control, marveling at how much calmer the change was when they both agreed.

The first thing the thief did was hang the new list of rules on the fridge. Then he opened the fridge and grabbed the carton of apple juice. With a look of disgust, he said," The stuff you buy is too sweet."

Following just behind his body, Bakura shrugged and suggested," _Then dump it down the drain._ "

"I will," the thief grumbled, taking the comment as an unwanted instruction. "And I'll buy something I like."

" _The supermarket is closed by now._ "

"Convenience store isn't, and it's my turn to make dinner."

The thief's version of making dinner was to walk to the closest convenience store and buy a premade meal. He chose greasy pasta with spicy fish eggs, and picked up an apple juice that wasn't entirely made of sugar, as well as some cream puffs when he saw Bakura roaming by the desserts. "Compromise," he huffed, not wanting his landlord to get any ideas about him going soft or something.

Returning to the apartment and wolfing down the meal, he finished within minutes. Being so late, the convenience store's options had been minimal- he'd been disappointed there were no proper meat options like liver and onions over rice or something- but this beat the cereal with marshmallows that Bakura liked to eat if he wasn't up to cooking. 

The thief set the cream puffs to the side and grabbed the supplied napkin and a nearby pen. Before writing, he snarkily said," I'm addressing this to someone, it's a letter." The official rule was written so it went both ways, so the thief expected his host to uphold the rule.

Bakura nodded and faded back to the recess of his soul room, leaving the thief his privacy. When he next opened his corporeal eyes, he was looking down at his hands. They held the small cup of cream puffs and napkin that was apparently a letter. The letter was mostly hiragana characters, the thief not having an exceptional grasp of kanji, and the characters were roughly shoved together like someone unpracticed in trying to fit words into a confined space. Bakura supposed the Ancient Egyptian Spirit didn't have many opportunities to practice writing.

_To Bakura,  
I'm not very good at writing letters. The rules aren't completely dumb. And neither are you. I might have been wrong._

_Your Tenant_

Bakura snorted at how the thief signed it. Of course, he added the honorable suffix, he had no humility. Holding the napkin up, he thanked the empty room in case his tenant was listening. After hanging the sloppily written letter next to the rules, Bakura enjoyed his cream puffs and called it a night.


	6. Checkmate

"Something's bothering you," Bakura stated, not having to wonder.

Kaiba didn't stop typing as he responded," I'm not easily bothered."

His attempts to insist he wasn't like other people, that he was somehow above the baser instincts most mortals clung to, had long since stopped fooling Bakura. 

" _He sure likes to dodge questions, doesn't he_ ," the thief commented as he appeared leaning against a wall.

Bakura flashed his resident spirit a look of "you're one to talk" and walked over to Kaiba. Wrapping his arms around Kaiba's shoulders and lightly kissing the nape of his neck, he mused," I know, but something's bothering you, even if it wasn't easily done." His joking tone fell away as he continued," You can talk to me about anything. What's on your mind?"

Kaiba often needed prompting to talk about his feelings. Bakura would respectfully let it be if Kaiba asked him to, but he rarely did. He usually was waiting for a hook to bring out what he was mulling over, never sure of himself if he should say anything or not.

"You readily took a penalty. You could have been taken away forever." If he was truly honest with himself, this scared Kaiba. He was still fighting off the fear that he'd been swimming through when he thought Bakura could be gone and never return.

"I couldn't let you suffer a third penalty," Bakura reasoned as if it was no big deal. He planted another small kiss, more for his reassurance than Kaiba's, feeling a chill run down his back as he recounted his penalty. It's deafening silence had not killed his sense of time like everything else. He'd been able to feel the hours pass and had been left to wonder if he was done living his life. If some great nothingness was all that awaited him, and the horror still echoed in rooms that were too quiet.

"My fourth," Kaiba corrected, shutting his laptop and leaning back into Bakura's embrace. He sighed and repeated," It would have been my fourth penalty."

"Your fourth?" Bakura exclaimed, letting go and spinning Kaiba's chair so he could look into Kaiba's piercing, blue eyes. They didn't hold their typical sharpness though, downcast and remorseful.

" _Pegasus_ ," Bakura breathed with shock. Of course, how had he not thought of it? He'd been a little preoccupied with his soul being suppressed here and there during that time, but he still should have realized losing any game with a millennium item wielder would only end poorly.

The thief came closer and sat on the edge of Kaiba's desk. He weighed in," _And Mokuba. Pegasus also trapped Mokuba._ "

Not being privy to the thief's commentary, Kaiba admitted," He took Mokuba's soul first, and then when I failed to save him, mine." He closed his eyes and grimaced almost angrily. "I don't like to think about it. It's my greatest failure. I brought the other penalties on myself, but that loss would have condemned my brother for eternity if it weren't for Yuugi."

"You two have been through so much," Bakura sympathetically murmured.

Kaiba hummed and opened his eyes, looking to Bakura with rueful eyes. "You speak like you haven't."

Bakura shrugged uncomfortably. It was awkward to say the least to admit to such when the very abuser that caused so much of his pain sat five feet away. 

~~  
~~

Kaiba moved his rook ahead three spaces, taking Mokuba's knight. He had his queen guarding, so while Mokuba could also take his rook with the bishop on the other side of the board, he doubted Mokuba would. Mokuba was not as much of a sacrifice players as he was, even his pawns were precious. For Kaiba, even his queen was disposable.

Mokuba surprised him by taking the bait and giving up his bishop, but further surprised him with," So you and Bakura are dating, right?"

Kaiba continued with his turn as normal, sliding a pawn forward to make way for his right bishop. "What makes you say that," he calmly asked, though his mind cried out with confused panic.

"Well, I mean, he practically lives here now and you asked the chef to learn, like, a hundred new desserts," Mokuba answered as if it was obvious. He chewed his lip as he stared at the board with frustration. He felt like he was already losing, and they were so early in the game. He finally moved his remaining bishop.

"So you are, right?"

"I never thought to ask," Kaiba admitted, a little slower to taking his turn.

Mokuba was persistent. "But, like, you totally think you are."

Kaiba gave his little brother an annoyed glance. "I don't know. It never occurred to me." He'd never imagined himself dating anyone ever. Bakura and him were… really close, and he'd kind of long decided they weren't just friends, but never thought more on what that made them. It didn't seem important.

They both took a few more turns before Mokuba asked," Do you love him?"

Kaiba gave into one of his few genuinely shocked gasps, stuttering out," I don't know." He hastily made a move, not wanting to display how thrown off his game he was, but as it turned out, it proved that very case.

Mokuba stood up excitedly, so fast that he almost knocked over all the pieces on the board, as he made his turn and shouted," _Checkmate!_ "

Kaiba smiled wryly, proud of his brother's victory. He'd exploited his opponent's weakness expertly. Mokuba beamed back, pride and happiness radiating off of him. He was getting a lot better since they started playing chess again. Kaiba thought back to their time playing in the orphanage. They hadn't been dealing with awkward questions about love back then. He kind of missed that.

Awkward questions of love made the older brother think about the future warily.

~~  
~~

Bakura was sleepily watching him sort out through his cards that were possibly entering his deck. The new set had finally came out, and Kaiba was rather excited to swap out some cards that would let him get his monsters on the field even more quickly.

Bakura had been sitting up on his own power, but he eventually gave in to leaning against Kaiba as he watched. "So with that card, you can banish cards, but that one will call them back?" 

Kaiba smiled lightly. Bakura could figure out all of his strategies only seconds after he laid out the cards thinking about them himself. "It's rather like how my last spread worked, but this should be faster now that I can call this card with this." He pointed to another card in the column of magic cards. "And cycle it with this." Pointing to an effect monster.

They sat on the ground, surrounded by stacks of cards. Kaiba had all of his deck's cards and his side deck arranged neatly in front of him, sorted into columns of magic, trap, and monsters sorted by type. He'd be sorting through these cards regularly until he came up with his official roster for the next tournament he'd enter. He didn't like to use the exact deck he'd used in previous tournaments, it let other's know his deck too intimately. 

It was only a matter of time before he was invited to one again. He'd made an official presence in a nationals tournament in Sydney, Australia three months ago, but with how his nightmares had been getting so bad, he hadn't made an effort to attend many since Atem's departure. He'd been wary that he may freeze up during a duel, under extremely public circumstances.

They were getting better again, probably in part to his soul not feeding another and because he and Bakura spent so much time together. Bakura understood when he wanted to talk, and understood when just existing together was enough. The fear of his penaltys' hauntings had faded, but as he looked down to the content man nestled up against him, Kaiba's stomach turned.

He took a break from his cards to massage Bakura's back, the other happily moving so it was easier to do. He seemed so happy to be at his side, Kaiba thought guiltily, but what if he wasn't in the future? What if… Kaiba's hands fell still as he thought.

"Hm? Something wrong?" Bakura turned a little so he could look to Kaiba.

He quickly faked a smile and leaned in to kiss Bakura's forehead. "No, just thinking," he assured him.


	7. Expressly Denied

Bakura was surprised when the Mansion's large gate didn't open for him on sight. Was a new guy on the clock? All the guards recognized him by now and knew of Kaiba's express order he was to be let in with no resistance. Bakura looked to the guard curiously as he came to a stop in front of the gate that was usually fully opened by now.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bakura, but Master Kaiba isn't accepting visitors at this time," the guard said stiffly.

Bakura smiled softly and said," I'm sorry, but if you check again, I should be written in as full access to the manor." He didn't want to sound rude or entitled, but these doors took a long time to open and he'd like to get on his way.

"Master Kaiba expressly denied your entrance," the guard said as apathetically as he could, a guilty frown clearly trying to pull at his lips. Bakura took the time to get to know everyone who worked for Kaiba; this guard knew how pleasant Bakura was and he was having to give such bad news.

"W-what?" Bakura's shoulders droped with shock before tensing with concern. "Why?"

He was so upset by this revelation, he barely noticed the thief appearing beside him.

"I'm not to divulge that information. Please remove yourself from this property."

At the guard's dispassionate words, Bakura's eyes began to prickle with tears. He stared only moments longer before forcing a small smile and awkwardly nodding. "Of course, um, let him know I dropped by." Before his thin facade could crumble, Bakura quickly backtracked, outright running by the time be reached the public road.

He'd decided to take the train since it was such a nice day, not wanting to bother the chauffeur and deciding a short walk would be good for him. Now he had to deal with public transportation as his face reddened and he did all he could hold back the tears. Bringing out his phone, he texted [ _What's wrong?_ ]. He didn't want to be rash and accusatory when Kaiba hadn't been given a chance to state his reasons. Just like their group message chat that he'd gotten Kaiba to join, the message was marked read almost immediately by Kaiba, but the other remained silent.

Swallowing back the lump in his throat, Bakura shoved the phone back into his bag and entered the train station. He gripped the straps of his bag tightly as he waited for his train. It would be another sixteen minutes before a train heading the right direction came; he'd just missed the last train by three minutes. As he waited, he focused on keeping a neutral expression, but his crinkled eyebrows and reddening cheeks betrayed him. He was thankful when he saw the arriving train was rather empty. It allowed him a spot to sit, where he bowed his head and bided his time.

Halfway through the train ride, he caved and dug out his phone. It dismayed him, but didn't surprise him, that there was still no reply. Worrying his lip, he sniffled and typed [ _Hello?_ ]. He figured he might as well hazard another text after twenty minutes of radio silence.

Again, it was nearly instantly read, but no reply or attempt at one.

He numbly stashed his phone and squeezed his bag tightly. Had he done something wrong? Was he finally too much of a bother? He outlived his usefulness and now was too great a burden?

" _Oy, Landlord_ ," the thief called, appearing in front of him, kneeling so his host would see him. His standard annoyed look was a little touched by concern, but he did his best to hide it.

"Leave me alone," Bakura hissed under his breath, checking around and being relieved that the closest fellow passenger had earbuds in.

" _What's that crooked president's problem, huh?_ " the thief asked, offering an uncertain smile. This was how one went about comforting someone, right? The new territory was awkward, but thief did his best.

With a shaky breath, Bakura mumbled," I really don't want to talk about it." He just knew that if he actually discussed it, he'd break down. It was a fairly short train ride home, and he just wanted to make it to his own private domain before he completely fell apart.

" _Geez, I'm just trying to help. I don't like when people are jerks to you_ ," the thief huffed, less than pleased that his trouble wasn't met with overflowing gratitude. Truly, no good deed went unpunished.

"I mean it!" Bakura whispered a little too loudly. "Leave me alone." As the thief began to argue, Bakura closed his eyes and focused. The spirit went silent, and upon opening his eyes, Bakura found he was visibly gone too. Had he not been working so hard to keep back his tears, he might have felt guilty about shutting down the thief in the same way he had been repeatedly. In his distraught state however, it only seemed fair to subject the thief to what he'd underwent for years after his warnings to leave him alone.

He made it as far as his apartment's parking lot before he lost it. The tears began cascading by the time he approached the stairs, and he ran up hastily. Fiddling with the keys to get into his flat seemed to take ages, and when he finally entered he carelessly threw his bag to the floor and slammed the door behind him. 

The first audible sob left him, and another quickly followed. Making way for the bathroom, he started running the tap, readying to wash his face. Bakura looked up, his reflection dim in the unlit room. He watched himself continue to cry, seeming to egg more tears from himself as he went on. Switching on the light, he was surprised by just how red his eyes were.

Bakura watched himself, taking some comfort from seeing the figure in the mirror cry as hard as he was, though not exactly sure why. He continued to cry harder until a trick of light caught him by surprise. For a second he thought his eyes turned harsh like the thief's, and he gasped in horror as he realized what he'd done. Releasing the binding hold on the the other's soul, he held a hand to his agape mouth as he sat on the cold, tile floor. His free hand ran through his hair, fingers curling between locks and pulling tight.

He was just like the thief. It just took a bad day, and he was just like him. 

With renewed tears, he pulled his knees close and quietly sobbed, his shrieking gasps for air being the only sound that left him occasionally. The thief came back, sitting up on the counter staring down at Bakura. His arms were crossed, and he looked pissed, but he didn't say anything as he watched Bakura continue to cry.

"Why are you just watching me?" Bakura asked after a few minutes, looking up as he wiped at his running nose. He sniffled and pulled away the hair that clung to his wet face.

" _Actually can again, thought I might as well_ ," the thief stiffly quipped.

"I told you to leave me alone," he reasoned, trying to shove his guilt away. He didn't want to feel like a bad person right now. He was already too emotionally exhausted.

Holding his hands out to either side, the thief roughly asked," _What's your problem? I was just trying to help-_ "

Bakura blurted," It's probably your fault!" Taking a big breath and asserting quieter, he added," You probably scared him off! Why did you even come back? I was finally happy… for the first time since you came into my life. You've ruined everything." The rush of anger faded as he let off some of the steam, but he still glared at the thief.

" _Hey, now_ ," the thief called with gritted teeth," _Just becuase your boy-toy treated you like garbage doesn't mean you have to come after me._ " He hopped down and kneeled infront of his host. " _I've followed all of your stupid rules since I came back. I made it possible so he could save you. I'm not the bad guy here._ "

Bakura rubbed at his eyes, cursing under his breath as he couldn't keep more tears from falling. "I'm sorry," he softly offered," I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell." His stomach turned as the thief moved to the side a little so he could better see his face. The spirit was staring so focusedly. "I'm sorry," he repeated after a few moments went by, hiding his face from the thief. He felt so stupid for crying so openly in front of someone, even if this was someone he couldn't ethically avoid.

" _Look at me_ ," the thief ordered indelicately.

Bakura frowned and bit his lip, but obeyed. He couldn't hold the thief's harsh gaze though and averted his eyes quickly. He muttered an apology as he did so.

" _You're feeling sad and angry_ ," the thief said with the tone of someone answering a math problem they weren't sure about.

Sniffling, Bakura humorlessly asked," What gave it away?"

The thief hesitated, then asked," _What are you feeling exactly? I mean, put it into words._ "

Bakura looked back curiously, surprised to see an earnest expression. The thief looked like he was actually curious, in the way that made it seem like he was looking at something new. "I feel betrayed. I'm upset because… Well, I feel like… It's hard to put into words. Nervous? Confused? I don't know what the future holds. I don't know why he's doing this. I don't know if it's something I did. I _just want to know_ , and I feel stupid now because I can't even control my feelings like an adult. I feel like I've been tossed to the side, and I took it out on you…"

The thief sat down and leaned back, a pensive frown growing slowly.

"I'm sorry," Bakura said again for good measure.

The thief leaned forward and looked Bakura in the eyes again. Bakura steeled himself and looked back confidently, despite the tears still running down his face. He felt a little faint, the toll of crying so long hitting him.

The thief reached forward, resting his hand to Bakura's cheek, though he couldn't actually brush the tears away. " _I've... made you feel like this before?_ " He felt like he should know, but he just didn't. He knew that Bakura didn't much like how he'd attacked Yuugi and his friends here and there. He knew that Bakura didn't like the pain he awoke to the same way that the thief felt empowered by it.

Looking away with embarrassment for a few seconds, Bakura admitted," Often."

" _Why?_ "

"I really wanted to trust you'd changed, time and time again, but you kept using me to hunt my friends. I kept waking up with new injuries. I was afraid. A-and I felt alone. We didn't really talk about what each other wanted."

" _That's why you want us to talk more now?_ "

Bakura nodded. He watched as a look of understanding lit up on the thief's face. " _You wouldn't be sad if Kaiba talked to you._ "

That was a little oversimplified, but he was pretty much right, so Bakura nodded. It was true, had he been given an explanation and some warning, he wouldn't feel like this. Somewhere along their chat, Bakura's tears had finally stopped. He was distracted by the thief's words. It was hard to believe that the thief really hadn't understood how he felt during their time together, or that he didn't understand now.

The thief never had time for feelings. Not others' or his own. He knew how to exploit them. Getting a rise out of someone often made their judgement poor. Putting someone against their deepest fears made them desperate, and the helpless often folded. There was no practical use for understanding how someone felt though, for understanding why they felt that way and what could ease them out of it. 

He knew what Bakura liked though, and he figured that was a good start. His earlier attempt hadn't gone over well, but maybe comforting words just weren't his forte. He didn't exactly have any examples to recite from. " _Hey_ ," he called softly in the tone that had come to mean 'may I take control'.

Bakura looked at him curiously, but he was too tired to do anything anyways, so he obliged. He didn't bother to project, just watching from the thief's mind eye. It was still bizarre to watch his body be piloted by someone else, but vaguely reassuring. Like, if he wasn't up to it, he could leave it to someone else.

The thief had seen Bakura make small tins of cake or brownies in his toaster oven often enough to think he knew how. It wasn't too difficult, just a few ingredients mixed up in the heart shaped tin bought from the hundred yen store and popped into the toaster oven for several minutes. Something like that, anyways, the thief thought as he set to doing it.

Bakura was shocked, moved by the gesture. He didn't mind the pain as the thief burned their hand trying to get it out of the mini oven. He gave back control as he grabbed a fork and sat down at the table with the dessert.

The thief didn't know the proper way to measure flour making the consistency odd, and he hadn't mixed the wet ingredients in all the way so there were pockets of dry powder, and it hadn't been in long enough, so other parts were still wet, but it was possibly the most enjoyed toaster brownie he'd even eaten.

" _Do you like it?_ " the thief asked when Bakura was a few bites in.

Shoving another forkful into his mouth, Bakura nodded earnestly.

" _Does it make you feel better?_ "

Swallowing, Bakura answered," Yeah, this was really nice of you." Sure he'd feel awful again soon enough, but at least this took the edge off right now. It was surprisingly thoughtful.

The thief had observed that Kaiba often called for food to be brought to them if Bakura was at all upset. He was smart enough not to mention where he'd gotten the idea from, though Bakura was also smart enough to probably guess. As Bakura ate, he let his mind wander.

"What is it?" the thief heard his host ask, and he looked back a little dazed. He must have gotten lost in thought and been staring pretty hard. 

" _Nothing_ ," the thief blatantly lied.

"Okay. If you ever want to talk though, you know I'd listen, right?"

Frowning, the thief asked," _Why?_ " It just didn't make sense to spend so much time and effort on someone. He wasn't even sure what compelled him to bake for Bakura.

"It's just nice to be there for someone. It feels good, too."

The thief would never admit it, but he did feel a little good about trying to help his landlord.

Snorting and looking away flustered, the thief mumbled," _You look like hell. You should take a shower and get some rest._ "

Bakura rolled his eyes, but it didn't exactly sound like a bad idea.


	8. Read At

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll upload another quick chapter since I won't be able to connect to the internet for a short while. This chapter is super tiny, but the next one is on it's way after I get back from camping!
> 
> Quick thank you to everyone who's stuck with the fic series. It really means a lot to me. I was afraid no one would read a fic this long for such an unpopular ship.

School the next day was awful, dragging on and on with no end in sight. All he could focus on was Kaiba's empty seat. He checked his phone again and sighed as he saw that his latest message had been read again, but still no reply. He didn't want to come off as obsessive, but he only grew more and more worried as Kaiba didn't answer. Bakura looked over the chat with a small frown.

Read 20:46 [ _I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it_ ]

Read 23:03 [ _Good Night_ ]

Read 07:04 [ _Morning! Sleep well?_ ]

Read 07:38 [ _Will you be at school today?_ ]

Read 09:01 [ _Is everything okay??_ ]

He had another text entered into his phone, but doubt made him erase it. He didn't want to come off overbearing. Kaiba wouldn't reply anyway.

Read 12:37 [ _I'm sorry if it's something I did_ ]

Read 14:42 [ _I've picked up all of today's homework for you_ ]

Read 17:58 [ _Why won't you respond?_ ]

Read 18:03 [ _Could we talk about it?_ ]

Read 21:11 [ _I'm coming off clingy with this many texts haha_ ]

Bakura gripped his phone tightly and bit his lip as tears gathered in his eyes. He wasn't laughing. He plugged his phone in and set the volume to high. He didn't want to miss any notification. All he wanted was to hear back. He wandered back to his charging phone twice, hoping he'd missed a notification.

Read 21:24 [ _Could you at least send me something so I know you're actually reading these?_ ]

Bakura immediately regretted as he pressed send, his stomach curling up into a knot. He didn't mean to send something so direct. He was just starting to get really frustrated. A day and a half of being ignored after outright rejected with no explanation was starting to wear on him. 

Guilty desperation clawed at his brain. It had to be something he did, or maybe he just was boring now. Maybe he _was_ too clingy. He began to feel sick. He tried to get himself to do dishes, but all he accomplished was standing in front of the sink feeling awful. Maybe he could spend some time reading his assignment instead. He could start working on that dungeon map he'd never finished planning out from over a year ago. Anything to feel like he was being productive. 

Bakura couldn't bring himself to do anything though, and gave up pretending he would. Sitting by his desk, he folded his arms and buried his face as he began to cry.

It wasn't the grand display of yesterday, just light tears that silently fell. He alternated between actively crying and sitting back in his chair and thinking about what it could have been that made this happen. What had been the final straw to cast him out?

A _ping!_ sounded and Bakura looked to his phone with shock. Hastily running over and grabbing the lit up phone, he unplugged it so he could hold it closer. He stared at the preview message with disbelief and swiped into it, his stomach dropping as he saw it.

[ _sorry_ ] 22:38

The overly formal version of the word was distant and plain. Bakura had been waiting all day for a single reply and this was all he could come up with? That 180 IQ brain couldn't string together a few more words than that? With sudden feeling of being slighted, Bakura swiftly typed back [ _Fuck you_ ] and chucked his phone across the room.

It hit the wall and burst into a few pieces, and Bakura just exhaled exasperatedly before trudging into his room and slamming the door behind him.

The thief appeared on the corner of his bed, a wry smirk accompanying his snide tone as he asked," _Not the message your were hoping for, I take it?_ "

"I'm not in the mood!" Bakura really didn't feel like dealing with the thief's inappropriate timing of jokes or general air of mockery. "I…!" His angry tone fell apart as he sluggishly made his way to his bed and let himself fall to its sweet embrace. "I…" A light sob broke free. "I…"

" _Shh… Just sleep. I shouldn't have said anything_ ," The thief sighed and disappeared, leaving Bakura alone.

All alone.


	9. Paying Rent

Bakura lied in bed, groaning as he checked the time again. He only had twenty minutes left before he had to leave, or he'd miss the train for school. He felt sick, not exactly physically but like he could throw up anyways. His nerves were thoroughly scattered. What would he say if he saw Kaiba? What would he do if he was missing? Would his friends ask him about it? How could he respond?

That and the overwhelming exhaustion of yesterday's sadness paralyzed him, and it felt impossible to get out of bed. 

The thief sat on the edge of his bed and asked," _Don't you have classes?_ "

Pulling the pillow over his ears, Bakura whined," Why don't you pay your rent and take over for today? I don't feel well." He was surprised as he felt them switch. He hadn't actually meant it, though he couldn't fault the thief since he had technically asked for it. He watched silently as the thief got up and went to work doing as he was asked.

The thief put on the clothes that Bakura had habitually laid out the night before. He tried to run his hand through their snarled hair, but gave up when his fingers got stuck and left it at that. Bakura cringed a little, but decided not to say anything. He was just glad he didn't have to do it all. They were in a hurry anyways.

The thief skipped breakfast, which Bakura was less than pleased with, but it was hard to teach old dogs new tricks.

They made it to school without a hitch, and Bakura decided he'd fade back to resting, not wanting to deal with the mess of emotions that Kaiba being there or not would cause. " _Wake me up when we're back home,_ " he asked, and he only briefly wondered if the thief would take that open ended command and run with it. He decided kind of glumly he didn't really care what the thief did with his body right now. He could stay out the whole night if he wanted. Bakura just didn't want to be conscious and hurting.

The thief was going to ask something, but Bakura had slunk back to his soul room too quickly, and he didn't think he should bother his host right now. What was he supposed to do when the teachers asked him things, or what if their was a test? He wouldn't even be able to read it…

Sticking his hands in his pockets and trying to give an air of certainty to assure himself he could do this, the thief boldly stepped forth to his first day of school.

~~  
~~

The thief made it through Bakura's first two classes easily, doodling in Bakura's notebook instead of taking notes. He regulated his eye contact with the teacher, looked up enough not to draw attention to the fact he didn't want to be called on. Everything was going fine until third period social studies rolled around. 

The class was World History and they were supposed to be reading along as the teacher read out the chapter on London, which the thief was pretty sure was in France, and its entrance into the "Railroad Age". 

"Bakura, could you read the next paragraph?" the teacher called calmly, in that way that made sure the students knew they were being purposefully difficult.

"Uh," the thief responded elegantly as he realized she was calling on him. He looked to the desk to his right, trying to tell by pictures which page he was supposed to be on. He quickly flipped through his textbook and finally found the right page, but had no clue where the teacher had left off. He tried to recall the last thing said, but honestly that was no help. He couldn't make out anything. Instead, he just picked a random paragraph and started there.

"Silv-? C-copper..."

"Iron," the teacher corrected.

At least that meant he was on the right paragraph, probably. "Right… Iron… neck…?" He squinted at the second kanji with confusion. That couldn't be right. It made no sense together. 

"Railroad," the teacher flatly corrected again. "That word is the title of the chapter we've been reading together."

Right. Iron and way, together they meant railroad. He vaguely remembered 'way' now, but it was too late to not sound like an idiot. Skipping to the next kanji so he could figure it out before got to it, he cursed softly. The second character was maybe used in refrigerator, but he doubted this paragraph of railways had the word for refrigerator. He was thankful to come across a year in numerals, he had no problem with counting, but the next word was rough. Mumbling over the hiragana that he actually could read as he paid more attention to the looming kanji, he barely voiced the word as he said "fridge". It made no sense in the context of what he was saying. He knew it was wrong, but he had to say something.

"Built," the student behind him whispered with a sharp kick to his chair and a laugh.

"This railroad was built in 1836," the thief reread, uncomfortably nervous. As he began the next sentence, he perked up as he realized he knew this kanji. It was used in duel monsters cards, continuous trap cards specifically. Before he could read "permanence", another classmate was reading it for him, anticipating him not knowing it. 

Though she was surely trying to be nice, it only further flustered the thief as his one victory was pulled out from under him. Stuttering over the next sentence, everyone was infuriatingly silent this time as he came across yet more he couldn't read. He bumbled his way through the rest of the paragraph, messing up even the stuff he could read as he got more and more embarrassed by every other word being supplied or corrected by everyone else.

When he finally finished, the teacher asked," Now can you put that into your own words?"

The thief looked at the book blankly. So many words had been called at him from so many sources, and it had been so disorienting, along with him adding all sorts of words that weren't actually there. He couldn't remember what the actual meanings of any of words in front of him were, and he kept his head bowed as he mumbled the first date listed but trailed off not knowing what to say with it. 

He brought a hand to his brow, covering his eyes. His other hand began picking at the hem of his jacket, and he was pretty sure he was breaking it at the seam in his stress. The teacher gave a disapproving sigh before calling on someone else, giving ready compliments as they effortlessly answered.

His hands slowly folded in front of his chest, and he squeezed them tight to himself, almost enough so that it hurt. The ring pressed against his ribs sharply. The thief sat through the rest of class completely still. He couldn't focus on the rest of the lecture, now that he was actually trying- afraid he might be called on again. Thoughts seemed to echo and circle about in his mind, but he couldn't for the life of him remember a single thought from even seconds ago.

When the bell rang for class, he got to his feet and kept his head bowed as he pushed his way to the front of class to leave first. He realized as he got to the hall that he didn't grab any of Bakura's things, but it didn't really seem important as he headed straight for where he knew he could sneak out of school.


	10. Summons

Bakura was surprised as he found himself curled up on the couch with a bag of chips that he absolutely hated. He went to check his phone, but sighed and craned his neck to check the time on the hanging clock. It was just after one o'clock. He had expected the thief to take his body on a joy run, not return in early. Licking his fingers clean, then wrinkling his nose at the flavor, he sat up and looked around a little disoriented.

"Thief?" he called, not really surprised when he wasn't answered, but a little disappointed. He didn't have anyone else to talk to. His friends were surely still in class, and the only person who regularly skipped class was not talking to him.

His lips felt greasy, but he preferred convenience store obentos to starvation, so he wasn't going to complain. Sighing and standing up so he could grab a clip for the chips, Bakura was surprised by the dizziness that met him. His legs shook as he stayed standing a few moments before woozily sitting back down.

He must have stood up too fast, he decided, but that didn't account for how his tongue felt dry in his mouth and his heart seemed abnormally strong.

"Thief." It wasn't a cursory call, it was an expected summons.

The thief snapped," _What?_ "

Bakura's eyes were closed to curb the dizzy spell, so he couldn't see if the thief fully appeared. It didn't matter, his question was pretty direct. "What the hell have you done to my body?"

" _You should take better care of it. You're in awful shape. All I did was run._ "

"For how long?" 

" _From school._ "

Bakura exasperatedly whined," That's almost eight kilometers away!"

" _... Yeah?_ " The thief sounded so nonchalant.

"Well, could you at least have drank some water?" He opened his eyes and looked to his side where the thief was sitting with folded arms.

" _It never occurred to me_ ," he mumbled. 

The uncharacteristic timidness stuck out, and Bakura sat up more so he could turn towards the spirit. "I didn't mean to yell. Sorry…" His voice hadn't been quite loud enough to constitute a shout, but it had been raised in mild pique. Guilt filled his stomach as he was first seeing that something was wrong.

" _Don't flatter yourself if you think raising your voice could upset me_ ," the thief sneered, looking away with a sour expression.

Bakura bit his lip, wary of pressing his luck, but deciding to ask anyways. He hoped the thief wouldn't get mad at him. "Is everything okay?" He got no answer, and tried asking," Why did you run home?"

The thief faded quickly out of sight and Bakura sighed. He supposed he didn't actually expect an answer to that. Readying himself for another go, Bakura got to his feet and staggered over to the kitchen. He felt awful, and he wasn't looking forward to how painful tomorrow would be. Beelining for the sink, he turned on the tap and eagerly began filling a cup with water. As he brought it to his lips though, the thief's voice quietly warned," _Don't drink too fast. It'll upset your stomach._ "

"Thanks." Bakura sipped a little at a time, feeling better as he leaned against the counter and continued to take in water. After two small glasses, he filled his cup once more and took it back with him to the couch.

He sat in silence for a while, not particularly feeling like watching anything on TV or doing any studying for his test tomorrow. After yesterday's reluctance to do anything, and whatever happened at school today, though, he figured he should at least try to do well on his test in literature.

He went to where he was left his backpack after getting back from school and stared at the empty space. "Thief, where is my backpack?"

The thief didn't answer, though he did show himself. His head was bowed and his jaw was tight. He looked over to Bakura when he realized he was being studied, instantly smoothing his features and offering a light shrug. His body language was relaxed, but Bakura could tell it was an act.

Bakura waited patiently as the thief's nonchalance seemed to falter more and more as time passed by. "I've been crying over a boy for two days now, I'm not going to judge you if you want to tell me about it."

The thief's brow creased and he gritted his teeth. The King of Thieves never showed weakness, not to anyone for any reason.

"It will make you feel better."

He looked into Bakura's soft eyes, and wondered if he was speaking from personal belief or just repeating what he'd been told all his life. They looked so gentle and welcoming. A little dark from his trouble sleeping, but warm despite it. 

" _I forgot to grab your backpack when I left after third period._ "

"Ah, history. Hashimoto can be pretty dry."

" _I… uh…_ " He was trying to say more about what happened, but even though he didn't have a physical body of his own, if felt like his throat was getting too tight to speak.

Bakura held a hand up his own throat, and the thief wondered if this host could feel the same discomfort he was imagining. Perhaps he was actually affecting their shared body.

" _Today…Well..._ " The thief crossed his arms, uncrossed them again, ran a hand through his hair, then crossed his arms again. " _I don't know. I'm not good at this,_ " he finally decided. He didn't want to admit anything to his landlord. He was embarrassed, and even just thinking of it was making him freeze up like he did until he could finally escape the classroom.

Bakura entered the kitchen and grabbed out his his favorite mug and a refreshing tea. Dropping the tea bag in and filling his mug with steaming water from his electric kettle, he inhaled the instantly beautiful aroma. "It's okay. It's hard. Take your time," Bakura encouraged as he pulled out a seat at his table.

The thief took the opposite chair, going through it to reach the seat since he couldn't pull it out. He stared at Bakura for a bit, then at the tea that was steeping. Then he found an interesting mark on the ceiling, and examined the reminders that were stuck to the fridge.

Bakura began to sip his tea as he waited, not betraying even a hint of impatience. 

Finally, the thief admitted," _I was asked to read from the book._ " He kept his eyes trained on his hands as they began to wring nervously. A feeling of dread pressed down on him. He couldn't believe what he was doing. He was just asking to made fun of! 

Eyes flicking up to Bakura for the briefest of moments, he saw knowing eyes looking back. Bakura could tell where this was going.

" _Forget it_ ," he hastily mumbled, taking leave once again. He didn't have it in him after all. It only made him feel like more of a failure, and he decided to rest devoid of awareness of the outside world.

Bakura stared at his tea, a little disappointed that even still, the thief couldn't talk to him. He wanted to help so bad. As he worked on his tea, he thought over what he should do about school and his missing items. Someone probably grabbed them, but he couldn't text around to figure out who. He also didn't particularly feel like getting reprimanded for missing his afternoon classes tomorrow, but he couldn't ask the thief to go through it for him. He sighed, wondering when his life would get easier.

He was cooking an early dinner when his doorbell rang. Curry could be left unattended for a while, so he let it be as he answered the door. "Oh, Anzu!" He plastered on a smile and invited her in.

"So that's why you weren't responding," she said, seeing the smashed phone that Bakura had never bothered to pick up.

Bakura sheepishly laughed, scratching the back of his head and saying," It slipped."

She gave him an amused look and asked," Is that so?" in a manner that clearly meant she didn't quite believe him. "You left your stuff behind today," she said, holding his bag up. As he took it, she frowned asked," Is everything okay? You seemed… really out of it today."

"Huh…? Well, I mean, I wasn't feeling so good yesterday. I should have really stayed home today."

"I copied my notes from today and left them in your bag. If you're under the weather, maybe I should go and let you rest."

Bakura shook his head. "Please, stay for tea at least. Thank you for bringing this all the way here."

She shrugged and smiled. "Okay, if you insist," she happily said, easily slipping her shoes off and leaving in the genkan. Sniffing, she asked," Mmm, what are you cooking? It smells good."

"Curry. Want some? I always make too much anyways," he offered. 

"Are you sure?" She didn't want to impose. When he nodded, she smiled and agreed. It sure beat having to cook on her own "Hey, you talk to Kaiba more, do you know what's up with him? He's been gone for two days, and Yuugi tried to go see him to give him notes, but he's not accepting visitors right now…"

Bakura laughed bitterly. At least he wasn't the only one to be turned away. "Don't know. Phone's broken, you know," he excused. He served up curry and rice, grabbing a spoon for each of them and bringing it all to the kitchen table.

She eagerly gave thanks and they started eating, remaining rather quiet during their meal. He wanted to ask what she would do in his position, but he didn't want to out Kaiba while doing so. Kaiba was so worried about his company's image, he didn't want anyone to know how close they were. Bakura had been fine with it, but now it made him feel alone.

After the meal, they relaxed and had tea. It felt good to talk leisurely. Bakura hadn't realized how much he needed to talk, about anything so long as it was face to face with another person. He hadn't really seen a lot of people over the last two days. He'd been pretty shutdown the day before, and he let the thief run today. Aside from [ _sorry_ ], he hadn't exchanged a single word with anyone aside from the thief.

It was easy to talk with Anzu; no matter what they talked about, she had something to add to the conversation so the other didn't feel like they were boring her with their own niche interests. She was such a dependable friend, and Bakura felt a little guilty for keeping her in the dark.

"Well, thanks again for bringing my stuff. I was a little panicked when I realized I didn't have my book for lit tomorrow."

"No problem," she assured. "Thanks for dinner, it was delicious."

As they finished their goodbyes, Bakura closed the door behind her and sighed. He had needed to talk, but now he was emotionally exhausted. It was only a little after six in the afternoon, but he felt he could sleep in until noon anyways.


	11. Letters

" _LANDLORD!_ " A strained voice yelled with blood curdling ferocity.

He woke to screaming, and realized it was his own. Sitting up in bed and sliding his feet over the side, he clutched at his chest. Tears were streaming down his face and his breathing was ragged. He gently swayed, craving any kind of sensation that let him know he really existed.

The thief was sitting beside him, glaring, but not really seeming angry. His default expression was just aggressive, and so was his confused concern. He did angrily make an obscene gesture at the ceiling when their neighbor stomped twice to let them know they were being loud.

" _You were having a nightmare_ ," the thief explained.

His voice had been hoarse, and Bakura found his was too as he mumbled," I- I don't feel real." He'd started screaming, looking for some evidence he was really there in his nightmare. "I couldn't see or hear anything, and my hands weren't mine. I was… I am… afraid."

" _Well, you're awake now. You can hear me, which means you're real, so you can get over it._ "

The thief didn't seem to realize how tactless his reassurance was, but Bakura appreciated it anyways. He knew the thief was trying, even if his words were often blunt.

" _Tell me more. Talk about your dream or something._ " The thief didn't have any prior experience with being eased out of a nightmare aside from Kaiba. Not anything he could remember. His contract with Zorc had encouraged nightmares, and insisted they were necessary.

"I don't really want to," Bakura said softly, averting his gaze. He'd taken to tracing his scar on his hand; it grounded him somewhat.

" _Why? I'm trying to help_ ," the thief snapped, leaning closer as if he could intimidate his way into being helpful.

"Sometimes people don't want help, and you have to learn that," Bakura irritatedly snapped back. He hated being quick to anger, but he was tired and not up to dealing with the thief right now.

The thief stood angrily, neck and nostrils flaring. " _You've never appreciated my help. I don't know why I still bother!_ "

"What help? You mean robbing me of my friends?"

" _Keeping. Taking care of. You can be so-_ "

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Bakura got to his feet and stamped for emphasis as he repeated his command. "I was miserable! How were you helping? No one wanted to be associated with me after finding out. They were _afraid_ of me. _I_ was afraid of me. Every new school I got shuffled to went the same. I'd be filled with hope that this time things would be different, but that hope would be stamped out as more friends fell victim to _you_."

" _You ungrateful-_ "

"What? What are you going to call me this time? Host? Boy? _I have a name_. I have a name, and you stole it from me! My friends call you Bakura, and it makes me sick!"

He hastily removed the Ring and threw it to the ground, relishing the bell like sound it clattered with. "I don't want to be with you anymore! I… I want to be alone…" He covered his face as he sank to the ground.

" _I'm… I'm sorry, _Bakura_. I'm not sealed to the Ring anymore._ "

Bakura let out a sob, sick of feeling justified and guilty at the same time. He sniffled back more tears, rubbing his eyes with one arm as he tentatively curled his fingers around the Ring with his scarred hand. "This damned thing should point me to whatever I desire, right? I want to be happy…"

The thief stared down at his host pensively. " _I really thought I was helping, back then. I've never had a friend that didn't leave me. I wanted to protect you from that._ " In his experience, as limited as it was, friendship and cooperation was built on mutual benefit, and once they ceased being useful, friendships were discarded or sold out.

Bakura let out a sigh of pity. " _God_ , what kind of life did you have?"

" _My entire family and village was burned alive in front of me. That and slavery weren't exactly grand foundations for a happy life._ "

Bakura looked up at the thief, frowning as he thought. "Didn't you ever get sick of causing more misfortune?"

The thief looked away sullenly. No, he hadn't. It had seemed justified. Now, it didn't seem quite so black and white, though. The thief was uncomfortable with that. " _Hey, landlord._ " He looked back to his host and corrected himself," _Bakura._ "

"What." He was absently staring at the Ring now, following the large circle with his thumb. He didn't bother to give the thief his full attention.

" _Your nightmare was about me, wasn't it._ " If Bakura hadn't wanted to talk about it, it was probably to spare his feelings. He was too damn considerate.

"Yeah," he admitted shyly. It was awkward to do so, and he hoped the thief wasn't angry. "My dream… You gave me a penalty, and I stopped existing."

The thief sighed as he sat down opposite his host. " _I thought so. I can't do anything right._ "

Bakura looked at him curiously.

The thief stared at the floor as he mumbled," _I made a complete fool of myself. I couldn't read any of the kanji._ " He rested his elbows on his knees and and held his head with an air of frustration. " _They laughed at me. I felt so stupid and humiliated._ "

"I'm sorry," Bakura murmured, feeling guilty. If he hadn't asked the thief to take over for him…

" _I must be stupid. I don't understand anything. You're mad at me because I didn't know how help you as a child, and I can't make you feel better like the idiot president does because I messed up and am the reason you have nightmares. Three thousand years and I still can't read._ "

Bakura shook his head and gently interjected," I'm not mad at you. I was. I hated you. But I never could completely. I missed you when you were gone."

" _So you're a fool too._ "

Bakura shrugged with a rueful smile. "Maybe."

The thief looked Bakura in the eye. He couldn't fathom being as forgiving as him. Had someone made him as miserable as Bakura claimed he'd done, he wouldn't even be able to look them in the eye unless he was in the process of bringing about their demise.

Bakura stared back, wondering what was on the thief's mind. He felt like he could maybe start to understand him a little now. It was comforting. "I could teach you. A few kanji here and there, you know."

" _I never had the chance at schooling before._ " Only the rich got to hire a tutor in Ancient Egypt, and he'd missed his chance with Bakura's youth. He couldn't remember anything but a confused need for revenge back then. An education hadn't been a part of Zorc's plan.

"I can't imagine many thieves did."

" _I don't get why you're helping me. It doesn't make sense to me, I guess, to waste your time on someone like me._ "

Bakura gave him a sad smile, then explained," That's what friends do."

" _We're friends?_ "

"I think so."

" _I can't be alone in thinking you don't make sense._ "

Bakura laughed quietly. "Maybe not."

" _You feel better now, right? You're supposed to feel better when you talk._ "

Bakura laughed lightly at the thief's clear copy paste lines of thinking. All of his attempts to cheer him up were things he was directly told or observed. Bakura was proud of him, he was learning whether he realized it or not.

" _What's so funny_ ," the thief demanded, a properly flustered expression capturing his face.

Bakura tried to stop laughing, a screwed up smile replacing it as he tried to take a neutral expression instead. The thief's ego could be rather fragile, and he was already upset about humiliating laughter. "Yes, I feel better. I like when we get to know each other better."

The thief still didn't seem satisfied with his mirth, but shrugged it off. " _It's not awful, I suppose_ ," he muttered.

"I don't want to go back to sleep…" Bakura looked to his uninviting bed. It seemed like such a chore to sleep now when his nightmare still plagued him.

" _What about school?_ "

A mischievous grin broke free, and Bakura asked," Do _you_ want to go to school tomorrow?"

The chorus of laughter that the thief imagined may come rang through his head. " _Not particularly._ " 

"Then I've suddenly come down with a fever. Don't want to get anyone else sick. Guess we have to stay home from school."

The thief grinned widely at this. He didn't think his host had it in him to be deceitful.

"I better email Anzu now. I hope she checks her email before school," he mused to himself, knowing that he would be in a lot of trouble after today's stunt if he didn't warn his teachers of his foreseen absence.

Fishing out his laptop, he composed a short email: 

[ _Hey, Anzu_

_I've woken up with a fever. I don't think I should go to school tomorrow. Could you let my teachers know? Thank you!_

_Also, could you let Mokuba know I can't make it? He usually waits by the west gate after school._

_Hope I didn't get you sick,  
Bakura_ ]

Bakura noticed as he looked up from his sent email that the thief was nowhere to be found. Bakura felt a warm fuzzy feeling fill his stomach. He really appreciated that the thief was taking the rules so seriously. Well, if he was already hiding away, Bakura might as well get another letter of the week written up. 

Taking a seat at his desk, he grabbed out his stationary and favorite pen. He began his letter as he always did, dating the top and addressing it with a practiced fancy text.

[ _Dear Amane,_

_I hope you're doing well. My week has been going very strangely. Amazingly one moment, and pretty awfully the next. I've gotten to really know someone well that I've wanted to for a long time, and that was awesome, if a bit turbulent, but someone I thought I knew very well has stopped talking to me and won't tell me why. I guess, hence the "stopped talking". It's only been a few days, so I hope it is over soon._

_The weather is getting to be pretty hot. I know I tease you every summer, but this time I really might just shave it off. I know how much you like my long hair, so I thought I should give you fair warning._ ] 

Bakura tugged his hair to one side, finger combing his hair when he realized he had never actually brushed it yet that day. He could never really get rid of his long hair, but he used to joke he would. She'd been three and a half when she informed him he better keep his "prince hair" or she would would cry every day for the rest of her life. The rest of her life, as it turned out, wasn't very long.

[ _I started writing for my campaign again. I know it's been a while since I talked about it. It's been a few months since I could lift a pen for anything but homework and letters. I wonder if I can get my old group back together to finish that campaign. I feel kind of bad for dropping right as they found out about the Big Bad's plan to seize control of the Postal Service to spread their tyranny undercover… The group was quite excited, especially when they met the well aged cleric NPC I made who made it an official quest to save the land._

_With everything that was happening with my friends, I just didn't have time to keep up the campaign, though. They were all getting really busy too, as it happened, so it worked out with no hurt feelings at least._ ] 

Bakura stared at the paper blankly. He hadn't really been all that busy. The players had been, but he just hadn't had it in him. As he lifted his pen to continue writing, something appeared in his peripheral vision. He looked up to the thief with a mildly displeased frown, saying," I'm in the middle of writing a letter."

" _I'm not watching, and you don't usually read aloud. I'm not breaking the rules,_ " he quickly defended.

Bakura pouted, but continued writing. It was awkward writing something so personal with someone looming over him, but the thief was indeed leaned up against a bookshelf, looking the other way.

Midway through Bakura writing about new happenings in Domino, the thief asked," _So what'cha writing about?_ "

"This is supposed to be a private thing."

" _The rule only lists no watching. I thought you liked getting to know each other._ "

Bakura stuttered over explaining," This is different. I don't… This…" He couldn't come up with a satisfactory reason not to tell the thief other than he didn't want to. It was his personal ritual with Amane, he didn't want to mess with it. 

" _You like compromises, so how about a deal. You ask me one question, and I tell you everything I know about it. It could be story from my past, something about class today, my favorite of a category, what have you. All I want to know is who it's addressed to_ ," the thief offered, his natural tendency to spin long winded speeches so they sounded song like, taking hold. It made it sound untrustworthy but so tempting anyways.

"Why do you want to know so bad?"

" _I'm curious. Oh, and want to get to know you or whatever the correct answer is._ "

"Saying 'and whatever the correct answer is' kind of disqualifies your answer."

" _Well isn't there anything_ you're _curious about?_ "

Bakura flipped his pen around his fingers, thinking it over. Sure there were a lot of things he was curious about, and the thief had surprisingly left it very open. He could ask quite a broad question, and the thief had said he would tell _everything_ he knew in regards to the question. For a name. A name of someone who he couldn't hurt, even if he wanted to- Bakura bit his lip as his line of thought naturally went there. Curiosity certainly played a part, but guilt pushed him over the edge. "Okay, shake on it."

They reached out their hands and passed them through each other. It was a bit odd to see his hand meet with the ghostly one, seeing two objects that would typically stop each other, continue like they met air.

" _So, what will it be?_ "

Bakura pondered this. There was a lot he wanted to know about. He was missing a lot of memories, but he wasn't sure he wanted to ask about those. He didn't know how he would feel when he heard about what his body had been up to during his blackouts. Slowly, memories came back to him in dreams, and he often woke up feeling disoriented and disturbed.

He didn't feel like dragging out any more about class. There wasn't much more to say, he was sure, and the thief probably didn't want to talk about it. Bakura smirked bitterly to himself as he acknowledged he was probably being played by the thief. The thief only mentioned that as an option because he knew Bakura wouldn't choose it to avoid upsetting him.

If he asked something about his past, the thief was likely not know. There was probably a reason for framing the answer as whatever he knew and offering such a tempting proposal. Three thousand years was a long time to remember some trivial detail like the kind of things Bakura was interested in. The thief knew exactly how interested in the small details Bakura was when he built characters, and everything he would want to ask about the thief would likely be a rather insignificant facet of life that was barely memorable to a normal person.

Bakura rested his chin on a propped up hand and grinned. "Favorite thing, huh," he echoed with amusement. "Okay, what's your favorite thing about me?"

The thief's head snapped up in surprise, though he kept from turning Bakura's way, the letter being too dangerously close that he may accidentally see it. He hadn't expected his host to ask that. He figured favorites to be the most boring of his suggestions, and had thought Bakura would surely opt for for a history lesson.

" _Fishing for compliments, are you_ ," He joked, trying to buy time to figure out how to answer. He didn't know what to say. The thief probably should know how to answer. Bakura was honestly probably the best thing to happen to him, ever. He couldn't imagine too many other people would welcome back a spirit that had almost killed their friends several times, stabbed them at least three or eight times depending on counting, and tried to inflict a penalty on their boyfriend as their first big action being back in town.

Bakura only replied with," I'm waiting." He well knew he was making the thief uncomfortable, and he was enjoying it.

" _Well, I, um…_ "

Bakura began to drum his finger lightly, not actually impatient- he was enjoying every second of this- but just to increase the tension. It was rare to get to see the thief so truly flustered without something awful going hand in hand.

There were a lot of things that the thief didn't completely dislike about his host. For instance, he wore comfortable shoes. And now that they had been at it for a while, his verbal sparring was improving. He was no master, but he could land a pretty amusing quip here and there. He switched shampoos when the thief mentioned he didn't like how the old one smelled, and cleaned up after the thief without mentioning it- enough so that the thief had actually begun to feel bad and clean up a little himself.

Those were all too… sentimental, though. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of saying such tender things.

" _You're a complete fool_ ," the thief finally decided.

"Thanks."

" _I meant it… as a compliment._ "

"Obviously," Bakura said with bright sarcasm.

The thief looked to the ceiling and exhaled in frustration. His host was making this hard on purpose. 

" _Most people grow bitter, but you never got the memo. You believe in second chances, and I guess that's pretty neat._ "

Bakura rolled his eyes. He wasn't expecting much. He'd honestly been expecting something like "you're convenient" and at least this was better than being called an efficient host.

Losing all sense of embarrassment, the thief jumped straight to point abruptly," _Well, your turn. Who's the letter to?_ "

"Amane," Bakura quietly answered, looking back to his letter and tracing the name with the back of his pen. He wasn't sure if the thief knew of her. She'd passed before he'd come into his life, and it wasn't like he really talked about her with anyone. His amusement of moments ago was gone.

"Oh that's the dead sister, right?" the thief asked dispassionately, like he was trying to match the name to a TV character of a show he barely watched.

Standing up with an enraged gasp, Bakura asked," What is wrong with you!" Angry tears prickled at his eyes and he gritted his teeth hard enough his jaw ached. He dropped his pen in his haste, and his fist shook with white knuckles instead.

" _Well, am I wrong?_ " He held his hands out wide with a questioning slouch. He didn't see what the big deal was.

"She's not just some dead sister," Bakura ground out. His voice softened with his stance as he held a hand to his heart. "She's my little sister… and I miss her."

The thief stared at his host, his brow contorted with his perplexion. Bakura stood under his glare of scrutiny for a short while before sighing at the fruitlessness of this all. Shaking his head lightly, he muttered," I'm hungry, what do you want to eat?" His voice was airy and harsh, trying to stay light but failing.

The thief followed Bakura as he began walking to the kitchen, and pouted. " _You're upset with me_ ," he assumed, crossing his arms.

Bakura turned back and growled," Of _course_ I'm upset!" He stared at the confused face of the spirit, and sighed, his shoulders drooping from their previous tenseness. He wasn't completely upset at the thief. He was also upset at himself for expecting anything different. He was so disappointed with the thief's response and lack of humanity about it, but he wondered what he expected out of him in the first place.

" _Why?_ "

How did he explain this to someone who lacked the empathy he took for granted. "You spoke of her like she's a thing," he finally answered, his eyes set a little angrily still despite him trying to cool himself down.

" _Well, I mean, it's been a long time. There's probably not a lot left to her corpse to be much of a thing anymore._ " He realized as it left his mouth, that it was probably not how he was supposed to respond. Bakura's shocked, hurt expression backed this, and the thief looked away. He didn't like that expression from Bakura, not anymore. It didn't give him any satisfaction like he was used to, and the thief found that odd and slightly disconcerting.

Bakura let his gaze drop to the ground and softly asked," Can you go away, please?"

The thief opened his mouth like he was going to say something, an insulted edge to the way he breathed in indicating what kind of message he wanted to put forth, but he stopped himself before he could say anything. He had been right. He really couldn't do anything without messing up. He hadn't meant to upset his host. He wasn't even really sure where he went wrong.

The thief flickered out of sight, returning to the depths of his soul room without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next story will begin Wednesday, Thursday if something crops up, so keep an eye out for it! Thank you to everyone who has read this far! I'd love to hear your thoughts :)


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